


A Toy To Be Broken

by DragaBloodvist



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Anal Sex, Astrid!Whump, Captive, Creampie, Cunnilingus, F/M, Forced Orgasm, Oral Sex, Rape, Rescue, Rough Sex, Vaginal Sex, Whump, emotional Hiccup!whump, lady whump, with a little bit of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:20:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragaBloodvist/pseuds/DragaBloodvist
Summary: Ryker has captured Astrid. She has no illusions as to what he's planned, but she won't give in that easily. But... does she even have a chance?
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Ryker Grimborn/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	A Toy To Be Broken

Astrid flinched when she heard noises coming from the door. After the Dragon Hunters had captured her, they’d taken away her weapons and armor, and without them, she felt weirdly naked. 

When the door opened a moment later, she huddled as far away from it as she could - which actually wasn’t that far. The heavy chain around her ankle rattled and made it impossible for her to hide or get away from the too-soft and too-big bed, one of very few pieces of furniture in this room. 

_ Cell _ . No matter how clean and even comfortable this room was, it was still a cell.

When Ryker’s eyes found her, he grinned darkly. “Are you enjoying your stay with us?” he asked, voice leering. He held one arm behind his back, hiding something from her view, but for now, Astrid didn’t pay it any mind. 

“Set me free,” she hissed, intent on not giving in and being the scared captive he was probably expecting.”Or you’ll regret that we ever met. As soon as my friends and our dragons find this ship, you’ll–”

She broke off when Ryker’s booming laughter interrupted her. 

“Oh, I like your spirit, girl. Keep it up, I’ll have more fun that way.” 

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t say anything else and only gritted her teeth. She’d probably learn more if she just let him talk.

But Ryker didn’t say any more, at least not at that moment. Instead, he tossed something toward her, something heavy that landed on the soft bedding without an additional bounce. 

Reflexively, she picked the object up, her fingers shaking, and she felt the color drain from her face as she recognized it. This... it couldn’t be! ...could it?

“Where did you get that?” she asked, hating how weak her voice sounded. This couldn’t be true! It was one of Hiccup’s prosthetics, there was no doubt. But this one was bent and even broken in one place, with stains that looked like blood all over it. How had Ryker gotten his hands on this? What… what had happened to Hiccup?

Ryker gave her a menacing grin. “What do you think? Your hero came to  _ rescue  _ you, just like you told me he would. My men just had to wait in a few hidden spots. Shooting his Night Fury out of the sky was almost too easy with how they hovered there, looking for you.” He laughed darkly. ”We’ll get good money for that beast. I’m just not sure yet what will get us more, selling it alive or in parts.”

“You wouldn’t dare to–”

“Oh, don’t act all innocent. You know  _ exactly _ what I do to dragons,” he interrupted her in an almost bored tone. “If I were to get my hands on your Nadder again, I’d even make you watch, just because.”

Astrid paled, but kept her mouth shut. Luckily, Stormfly had been able to get away when Ryker had surprised them at their resting spot. She was out of this madman’s reach. But that couldn’t be said about everyone… She was here, chained and helpless in this weird cell. Toothless seemed to be his captive now, too, and… She swallowed and her hand grew tight around Hiccup’s prosthetic. 

“And what happened to Hiccup?” she asked in a trembling voice, scared of the answer already. 

Chuckling darkly, Ryker came closer. “Let’s just say… If I were you I wouldn’t waste my hopes on that weakling anymore,” he said menacingly. “And  _ his _ fate should be the least of your concerns now.”

He reached for her arm and grabbed her so tightly that his hand surely would leave a bruise. But even if she’d had the room to back away further, she wouldn’t have been able to move anyway. 

Hiccup... Hiccup was…? No! No, he couldn’t be dead! She’d know if he was, would  _ feel _ it! ...wouldn’t she? She clutched tighter at the prosthetic as if it was a lifeline as her thoughts spiraled down into darkness. What had happened to him? 

– 

Ryker watched as the girl froze in a moment of panic, a wide grin on his face. 

The truth was that he had no idea where her precious boyfriend was. His men had captured the dragon, but the rider had been nowhere to be found. Even the fake lag he’d shown her to break her hopes of rescue had only been a lucky coincidence as it had been lying in the dragon’s saddlebag. Maybe the Dragon Rider’s leader had fallen into the ocean and had drowned by now. Or maybe he was hiding somewhere aboard this ship, uselessly trying to free his dragon and the girl. Well, his men would find him sooner or later if that was the case. Either way, he wouldn’t be here in time to save her.

Frozen in place and distracted as she was, it only took him a few well-placed cuts with his knife and her remaining clothes fell off her. In one or two places, he’d nicked her skin as well, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was only that she awoke from her stupor again when the cool night air hit her skin. She stared at him, anger and fear in her pretty eyes. 

– 

“Don’t you dare!” she spat again, but Ryker gave her no time to resist him. 

He pushed her down onto the bed and grabbed at her legs to pry them open. Astrid fought tooth and nail against him, kicking, twisting, and scratching him wherever she could reach. She would  _ not  _ let him do this to her! But in the end, all her struggles were useless. Ryker was like a mountain of flesh and muscles, unmoving above her, and if her hits affected him in any way, he didn't let it show. Fear overcame her when she realized that this might be a fight she couldn't win.

– 

The girl fought against him with the usual strength of desperation Ryker had come to know and enjoy. No, that wasn't entirely true; she was stronger than most toys he usually picked to break them, he had to give her that much. Keeping her contained took more effort than he was used to and one or the other of her kicks actually hurt. 

But that wasn't enough to deter him. On the contrary, it only served to heighten his anticipation, and in the end, she had no chance against him anyway. She was, after all, just a slender little girl. 

“No! Don’t touch me, you sick bastard,” she screeched when he grabbed her thighs, well-toned and strong, and used all his strength to push them apart. "Let me… let go of me."

Eager for his goal, Ryker didn't see the hit coming. Pain exploded in his head as it collided with hardwood and metal, and for a few brief moments, all he could see was splotches of darkness and few brightly flashing lights. He shook his head to clear it, growling at the additional pain that caused.

Smart girl, he reluctantly thought to himself. She'd used the fake leg as a club and her aim had been exceptional. But if she'd hoped to knock him out with such a blow then she'd definitely overestimated her strength.

He blinked a few times to clear his vision, finding her huddled into the corner, clutching at her token weapon with fear and determination. Ryker smirked, and only moments after she'd hit him, he was over her again. She clearly expected him to take away her  _ weapon _ , clinging to it with so much strength that her fingers around it were white. 

But he didn't care about the leg. Instead, he brought his hand up and slapped her across the face, so hard that her head snapped to the side and she let out a pained scream.

– 

Astrid's ears were ringing from where he'd hit her, her orientation off as suddenly the whole room tipped sideways. She still clung to Hiccup's prosthetic, desperate to not let Ryker take it away, to not lose it. What would he do to her, now that this last plan of hers had failed?

She cried out when she found out, his large hands grabbing at her thighs before she even regained a clear mind again. She knew what would come now, and there was nothing she could do to prepare for it. He would rape her. He would violate her. He would hurt her, would…

– 

The girl shrieked when he lifted her up by her legs and flung each over one of his shoulders. Grinning, he threw her one last glance and then buried his head between her thighs, finally getting a good taste of her. 

Others called him stupid for doing this to his playthings, to pleasuring them in such a way - supposedly degrading himself by this act. But none of them understood the power he had in these moments. Every idiot was able to rape a captured girl or boy, there was no accomplishment in physically forcing his cock into them and taking his pleasure, in breaking their body. Oh, he would do that, too, couldn't  _ wait _ to feel this little slut around his cock. But before, he would break her mind. Taking control of her body and making her feel things she didn't want to feel, now  _ that _ was true power. Just like before, she would fight against him and it wouldn't do her any good. He was her master now and it was time that she learned her lesson.

He wasn't careful or sensual as he ate out her little pussy. If anything, what he did could be called brutal, using his teeth just as much as he used his lips and tongue. He enjoyed mixing pain with pleasure until his toys weren’t able to tell the difference anymore. The crying and whining, sobs mixing with moans - it was intoxicating. 

And this girl was especially fun to play with. She didn’t give in easily, didn’t resign to her fate and let him do, oh no. She kept fighting, even as he dragged his tongue along her folds, uselessly twisting in his grasp. He sucked and bit at her clit, drawing a high-pitched cry from her every single time and making her shudder, even as her legs kept kicking harmlessly against his back. She tried to push and scratch at his head, but her feeble resistance only made licking up her arousal so much sweeter, suckling and relishing every drop of her honey he could get. She didn’t want this, but that didn’t change that she felt good. Her body liked what he did to her, her wetness was proof of that. So he kept forcing pleasure into her slender body, even as she begged and screamed for him to stop.

– 

"Stop! No, don't… don't… oh, please stop. Please! No…"

Astrid didn't want any of the things that were happening. She didn't want to be here, captured and useless, and yet she hadn't been able to escape or not let them capture her in the first place. She didn't want Ryker to be near her or to touch her, his greedy eyes and sweaty hands disgusting on her skin. She didn't want him between her legs, violating her body when she'd promised her love and her life, her body and soul to Hiccup. And most of all, she didn't want to feel pleasure from this violation.

And yet… there was nothing she could do about  _ any  _ of these things. She was here, captured while Hiccup might be dead and entirely at Ryker's mercy, and her body  _ liked _ what he did to her. No, she didn't want any of this, but that didn't keep the pleasure from flooding her body, heat pooling in her lower belly even as she tried to fight it. But no matter how hard she twisted and kicked and scratched, she couldn't get free of Ryker, couldn't make her body stop responding to what he did. It hurt, so much, but it also felt good and… and... 

"No, no, no," she whined, clutching Hiccup's prosthetic to her chest as if it could shield her from the tendrils of heat that moved through her body. "Don't do this to me. I… I don't want… No, no, no…"

But it was pointless. Ryker knew too well what he was doing and she had no way of resisting him any longer.

– 

She came with a fierce scream, like the eruption of a volcano. She'd fought it so long but now, all walls were breaking down, and Ryker enjoyed his victory to the fullest. Her back arched as her orgasm finally exploded inside her, and her arms and legs shook with the powerful waves of pleasure that wracked her body. He held her tight, drinking down her sweet pleasure, and not stopping with his efforts until her pleasant aftershocks turned into painful oversensitivity.

For a minute, he kept enjoying her pain, his victory. Then he let her legs drop unceremoniously to the bed where they lay limp and unmoving. He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, soft like a lover, "You're mine. You belong to me now. You'll do whatever I want and your wishes are irrelevant. Do you understand?"

– 

Astrid's mind was still dazed after her orgasm, her world unhinged for the moment. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing had meaning. Not Ryker, not this ship, not her body. They all had become her enemies. Instead, she clung to her memories, memories of flying through the sky and memories of Hiccup smiling at her. Of him whispering "I love you" into her ear at night, of his arm around her, so warm when they cuddled through the night. Her memories were safe.

She didn't even notice how she clung to them in reality as well, her hands clutching at his prosthetic and holding it tight, not letting go. It didn't matter what Ryker or her body did to her so long as she still had this last part of Hiccup with her.

– 

Ryker watched her with an amused smirk. She was holding that broken fake leg like a child would hold a plush toy, hoping that it would protect them from the darkness of the night. He thought about taking it away from her, to crush this part of her as well, but decided against it. She wasn't fighting him anymore, not when he stripped off his clothes and not when he settled between her legs, his enormous cock resting against her stomach. If letting her keep the broken tool kept her compliant like this, all the better.

She only stirred when he slipped the head of his cock into her tight pussy, but by then, it was too late. Ryker rammed the rest of his length into her in one hard thrust. The girl cried out, her eyes snapping wide open, but he didn’t care. 

With a low groan, he relished in how tight her hot little pussy was, so much tighter than the toys he kept back home. She wasn’t as tight as others, not a maiden anymore apparently, but he hadn’t expected that anyway. Either way, she felt incredible; the anticipation for having  _ her _ beneath him had definitely been worth it. So many times she’d defied him, had beaten and humiliated him in front of his men or his brother. But now, she was nothing but another toy to him and he would make good use of her. 

He pulled almost all the way out and then thrust back in with even more force, his lips pulling back into a menacing sneer as her following scream. Yes, this was it! All the revenge and gratification he’d longed for. 

He kept fucking her at a brutal pace, taking no regard for how she felt now. She had her pleasure, now it was time for his. Holding her by her slender hips, he pounded into her like there was no tomorrow, on and on and not slowing down in the slightest.

– 

Astrid tried to fight back, she really did. But she felt weak and was ashamed of being so weak, wasn’t able to do anything but take it when Ryker raped her. She tried to push him away and to close her legs, but if he even noticed her resistance, he didn’t let it show, let alone let himself be deterred by it. 

Tears rolled down her cheeks and into her hair, tears of pain and of humiliation. She’d failed. Entirely and completely. So it was only right that she got punished now, wasn’t it? Another pained cry escaped her at a particularly hard thrust, her body so sensitive that everything seemed to drive her insane. She only wanted for this to stop, to curl into a ball and forget. 

– 

“Fuck, yeah! I’m close, sweetheart. I’m gonna fill you up so good. Fuck, that greedy little pussy will get it all.”

“N-no…” 

The girl keened and shook her head, pressing one hand against his chest as if to push him off her. The gesture was so cute and useless that it gave him an additional kick, having broken her so thoroughly, that his orgasm hit him like a Catastrophic Quacken. His balls grew tight and his cum shot into her like the blast of a Scauldron. He held her tight against him and humped into her until his climax was ebbing off and she was filled to the brim with his seeds. 

With his cock staying inside her even as he softened, he leaned down to bring his mouth to her ear. She was shaking violently, her eyes screwed shut, and he wasn’t even sure whether she could hear him in her current state. But that didn’t diminish his victory. 

“You took it all,” he rumbled into her ear, his voice dripping with dark amusement. “And I’m sure you can take so much more still. You know what, I’m gonna keep you. I’ll keep you tied to this bed and whenever I feel like it, I’m going to visit you and fill you with more cum. You’ll simply be available to me, day and night, and I’ll fuck you as often as I want to. Eventually, you’ll even have my child in you.” He placed his hand over her slim hips and felt how she tensed beneath his touch. So she was hearing it all, even if it only happened subconsciously. His grin grew even darker. 

“I’ll make sure that you keep the baby. I’ll even force-feed you if I have to. Say goodbye to your time as a Dragon Rider, because you’re mine now. My fuck toy and my incubator, and nothing more.”

The girl whimpered and more tears leaked from her eyes, but she didn’t react further. She was nearly entirely gone now. So pathetic. In the end, they were all the same. She’d fought well, that much he had to grant her, but now she was just as passive as all his over slaves. But, well, that wouldn’t keep him from enjoying her further. 

Her lovely heat around his cock and the picture he’d drawn of her future had made him hard again, hungrily pulsing within her for more. So he pulled out, a little string of cum following, and positioned his head at her ass instead. She was defeated and broken, now he wanted to truly punish her for all the times she’d caused him trouble. 

Without the slightest bit of preparation and only his cum as lubrication, he pushed into tight little ass. There was no question whether he was tearing her or not, he was counting on that. He wanted her to be in pain now, and judging by her sudden fierce scream, he was getting what he wanted. 

Just like before, he fucked her without mercy. It took longer for him to get close to his orgasm this time with having come just before, but that made this all the better. The girl screamed and cried and begged for him to stop, and it was like the sweetest music to his ears. The perfect punishment and a good start for her new life.

Eventually, her screaming stopped though. When he looked down at her, rocking back and forth at his thrusts, her eyes were empty. She was still alive, still clutching that fake leg as if her life depended on it, but she didn’t react to anything he did anymore. 

A smirk spread over his face, a sense of victory and accomplishment filling his chest. It fueled his arousal, and it only took a dozen more trusts until he dumped another load into her guts, groaning at the amazing feeling-

Until a moment later, his entire world went black.

* * *

This was, without any doubt, the worst day of his entire life.

Starting with Astrid being gone from the bed they shared in her hut, Hiccup hadn't thought much about it at first. She liked going on early morning flights. Stormfly returning alone and in an obvious panic had been enough to have him anxious, too, though. With all their friends up and about with various tasks, he hadn't bothered getting any of them, he'd just jumped on Toothless's back and followed Stormfly to wherever Astrid was. But when he spotted the Dragon Hunter ship he realized that he should have brought back-up after all. He really really should have...

Toothless getting hit by a dragon root arrow was the next blow. Hiccup had thought they'd been careful in looking for guards, but  _ obviously _ , they hadn't been careful enough. The only saving grace of this utterly failed rescue attempt was that Stormfly had been able to hide between the sails and had fished him out of the water before he'd drowned. 

But now? Now, things were getting so so much worse. 

He was hiding behind a few boxes in one of the corridors below the ship's deck and had to listen to Astrid screaming behind the next door over. And there was nothing he could do to help her. Everything inside him urged him on to rush to her aide, but that wasn’t possible. 

Four men were posted in front of the entrance door, guards all with weapons. Ryker apparently didn’t think him dead after all and expected him to show up or he wouldn’t have put so many men to guard this room. 

Hiccup grit his teeth as another of Astrid’s screams echoed through the door, his fingernails digging painfully into his palms. He  _ had _ to get in there! But the only weapon he had was a crude club-like piece of wood, not a good enough weapon to fight four armed guards. One he could take, maybe two as well… but not four. And Stormfly couldn’t be of any help here, either, she wouldn’t even fit into this narrow corridor, let alone be able to fight. He could try to free Toothless first, but… but that would take a while, too, and he just  _ couldn’t _ leave and let Astrid suffer! Not like this… 

“Fuck, I hate having to keep watch when he does this,” one guard muttered as he shifted from one foot to the other. 

“Agreed,” another one replied. “Having to listen to what he does to them is the worst.”

Hiccup’s head perked up. Was it possible? Could it be that he was this lucky? Were Ryker’s men against what their leader did? Would they maybe… even  _ help _ Hiccup put an end to this?

“If only he’d let us have a go at that cunt, too,” another one grumbled. “It’s been  _ weeks _ since we stopped at a proper harbor. Oh, what wouldn’t I give to just have ten minutes with that girl!”

“We could even share her. One takes her mouth and the other her ass if Ryker insists on keeping her pussy for himself. But no. He just lets us listen and…” he trailed off with a groan. 

In his hiding spot, Hiccup gritted his teeth. No help from these men after all. On the contrary, they were just as bad as their leader, who… who… 

No! He could still hear Astrid’s screams and even thought he heard her begging for Ryker to stop. But  _ imagining _ what happened in there– he had to find a way to stop it, he just  _ had _ to! 

“Maybe we can sneak in once he’s done with her,” one of the guards muttered a minute later. “I’ve seen what he did to other captives, it won’t even make a difference if we use her some more.” 

The other men muttered in hesitant agreement, even going so far as to decide on an order of who was to enjoy her first. Hiccup felt like throwing up, and all that kept him from charging in on them was the knowledge that if he got himself captured now, they would go through with this vile plan.

Time passed and there was more screaming. 

Hiccup was about to lose his mind, so close to trying to fight his way into that room no matter how impossible that was, when movement came into the group of guards again. 

“Fuck it, I can’t wait any longer. You three stay here, I won’t take long,” one of the men said and was about to leave them standing. 

“Sure, you won’t. You never last long anyway, right?” one of the others snickered.

The first one growled something that made the others cackle even more. 

“You know he’s going to take his time now, right? Specifically to get back to you for that jibe?”

“Fuck, you’re right… And here I’d hoped to go and jack off to that cunt’s screams myself…” 

With his heart beating in his throat, Hiccup listened to their conversation. Their comments made him sick. But maybe… is he was lucky… 

“Oh, screw it! We all need it now, right? We can still take her again later, but my cock’s so hard  _ now _ , I think it’s gonna burst any moment.”

There were only token complaints, one pointing out that if someone saw them not on their posts they’d all be dead. But it didn’t take much until two more men left the area in front of that door and a moment later, the rustling of cloth and the last guard’s groans and grunts were audible as he feverishly jerked himself off. 

_ Now _ , Hiccup thought. Earlier, he’d wrapped a piece of cloth around his metal lag, and being stealthy now came in handy. The man never heard him coming closer and went down with a low grunt after Hiccup’s club met the back of his head. Just to be on the safe side, he went into the directions the other men had disappeared to and knocked them out as well, his hatred and disgust giving him the strength to wield this unfamiliar weapon with surprising efficiency. 

Once all four men were dealt with, Hiccup hurried back to the room they kept Astrid in. It had grown quiet in there; no more screams were audible. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad sign, though. Without waiting even one second longer, he entered the room. And what he saw made his rage boil hotter than ever before. 

There was a bed in this room. On the bed, he saw a large form - certainly Rkyer - hunched over, grunting and groaning as his hips frantically moved back and forth. Beneath him lay a small figure, naked as it seemed and unmoving. A single strand of golden blond hair hung from the side of the bed, swaying with the rocking movements. 

For a heartbeat, all Hiccup could do was stare at this single blonde lock, so undeniably Astrid’s that seeing it in this context made something inside him break. Then the noises changed, Ryker let out a guttural groan and his movements became jerky as he came at this very moment. 

Then, everything happened very fast. With a furious snarl, Hiccup rushed through the room and brought the club down on Ryker’s head. He gave a dull grunt, and then he tumbled off the bed and to the ground where he lay, groaning and struggling. 

Without putting the club out of his hands, Hiccup took a few seconds to quickly look Astrid over for visible injuries. There were scratches and some slowly forming bruises all over her body, and a few shallow cuts here and there, but nothing life-threatening as far as he could tell. Then his eyes moved to the area between her legs. He had an idea of what had happened to her; he'd listened and even witnessed some of it, after all. But actually  _ seeing _ it was something else. 

Ryker's violation had left her sore down there, raw even, her flesh an angry red and throbbing. She had to be in so much pain. But was worse - so so so much worse! - was the milky white liquid that dripped out of both her openings, streaks of red mixed into it here and there. 

Hiccup snapped. 

In hindsight, he couldn’t fully remember what happened then. His grip around the club tightened when Ryker groaned again and gave signs of regaining his consciousness, and he reacted purely on reflex. Rage, hatred, frustration, and pain fueled his strength as he brought the club down on Ryker’s head. He deserved the worst. For what he did to dragons. For all the things he and his men had done to him and their friends. For what he’d done to Astrid.  _ Especially _ for what he’d done to Astrid! Every thought was accompanied by a hit with the club as he beat Ryker again. And again. And again… 

He lost count on how many times wood met flesh and bones, but by the time his mind cleared again, Ryker wasn’t moving anymore. Breathing heavily, Hiccup stood over him, staring down at the broken body, before he turned away. Ryker didn’t matter anymore. Never again. 

Instead, his gaze shifted to the figure lying on the bed. Astrid hadn’t reacted to anything since Hiccup had entered the cell, not to Ryker’s sudden absence above her, not to Hiccup’s appearance, and not to what had happened during the past seconds either. 

For a horrible moment, Hiccup feared that she wasn’t alive anymore, her unmoving eyes just gazing unseeingly at the ceiling. But then he noticed that she was still moving. It was small, just shallow breathing, and she was shaking. But that was better than nothing, right? In her arms, she held one of his prosthetics for some reason, clinging to it with all her strength. The sight confused him a little, but not enough to try and make sense of it. It didn’t matter. All that mattered now was the woman he loved.

“Astrid?” 

There was no reaction. He knelt down next to her on the bed and tried again, carefully brushing a strand of hair out of her face and caressing her arm to draw her attention.

“Astrid? Can you hear me?” 

But she still didn’t react. Suppressing a desperate scream, he pulled her limp body into his arms and pressed his forehead to hers. “No, no, no,” he pleaded to nobody in particular. “I can’t lose you. Astrid, please. Please stay with me.” Hot tears ran down his cheeks and landed on her skin. 

She was scarily cool to the touch, so after a minute of nearly going crazy with desperation, Hiccup forced himself to think practical again. She needed him now, no time to lose his mind. He scanned the room and found what he was looking for: a blanket on one of the few shelves. It was scratchy and smelled awful, but he couldn’t be picky. With careful but quick motions, he wrapped Astrid’s slender body into her blanket and hoped that it was enough to get her warm again. 

Then he sat at the edge of the bed, Astrid’s still shivering body in his arms, and cursed under his breath as he tried to come up with a plan. He’d somewhat counted on Astrid helping him free Toothless so they could all escape, but that was definitely not an option anymore. His highest priority now was to get Astrid to safety. 

Luckily, getting off the ship proved to be far simpler than getting on it. He brought Astrid to the ship’s deck where Stormfly was all too happy to watch over her rider while Hiccup went to free Toothless. The Dragon Hunters were used to keeping a low profile as long as their leader was  _ busy _ , or so it seemed. Aside from the four knocked-out guards from before, he only encountered three more doing patrols, but since they were on their own, it was easy to knock them out as well and deposit them in some quieter corners of the ship. Another pair of guards was keeping watch at Toothless’ cell, but they clearly didn’t expect him to appear without anyone raising the alarm before. Dealing with them caused some noises, but at that point, it barely mattered anymore. With Toothless’s help, they were back with Stormfly and Astrid in no time, and before even the first guard had caught up to them, Hiccup had picked Astrid up and they were up in the air, out of range of any arrows and with Astrid safely secured in his arms. 

They couldn’t fly as quickly as Hiccup would have liked, though. Toothless was still weakened from the dragon root arrow, and even without carrying any extra weight as Hiccup and Astrid were riding Stormfly, he couldn’t fly as fast as usually. Hiccup tried to make the best of it. All he wanted was for the two most important people in his life, Toothless and Astrid, to be safe and well, to treat their wounds and let them rest. But it would still be many hours until they reached Dragon’s Edge, so he used the time to try and talk to Astrid, hoping that eventually something of what he said might reach her. 

“Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Ry- he won’t ever harm you again. Just a few more hours, then we’re back home. Everything will be fine.” The words felt hollow in his own mind and left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. She’d experienced unimaginable horrors, could  _ anything _ ever be fine again?

“I… I saw what he did to you,” he muttered after a few minutes of heavy silence. “And I can’t even imagine… I mean, I don’t know how you… But he’s gone now. Dead. I… I killed him. Too quickly, I think, he should have suffered more. But he won’t ever harm or threaten you again. And everyone who might try will pay for it. I  _ swear _ to you, Astrid, I will protect you. I… I will…” 

Hiccup broke off, his mouth dry and tears burning in his eyes. What did it matter? What did it matter that Raker was dead and what worth had his vow of protection? He hadn’t been able to prevent this, and nothing would ever make it undone again. 

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m sorry that it took me so long to free you. I was so stupid for not bringing anyone else. If we’d attacked with full force instead of just me overestimating my skills, then… then he’d never gotten the chance to… It’s all my fault!”

He buried his face in her hair, sobbing quietly. If only he hadn’t been so arrogant and cocky, had recognized the true danger, and had waited for the others to support him. 

For a long while, Astrid still didn’t react, didn’t even blink. He was reminded of the one time she’d almost drowned and he’d carried her just like this, scared of whether she would recover. This was very much the same yet at the same time so much worse. He knew by now how incredibly strong Astrid was, that nothing, not even the cold ocean was able to knock her down. But this was different. Ryker hadn’t just violated her body; he’d also broken something else as it seemed. Astrid wasn’t just hurt or even injured, no. She wasn’t even really  _ unconscious. _ This was something else. And Hiccup could only hope that she was strong enough to make it through this. He would support her as best he could, of course, he would. 

As long as she let him… 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a good while back, in November, I think. Originally, I wanted to give it a more elaborated ending but wrote myself into a corner there. So instead of trying to get out of that corner... I just deleted the weird end bit and left it like this. I hope it works, too.


End file.
